The NHL and NHLPA finally have set the salary cap for next season, and it can’t make Peter Chiarelli very happy.

The ceiling is $69 million with a floor of $51 million. The ceiling comes in below the $70 million or $71 million that many had been hoping for, some extra cash that would have come in handy for the Bruins, who are now even tighter to the ceiling.

With a $4.75 million bonus overage penalty due largely to Jarome Iginla’s incentive-laden contract last season, the Bruins’ ceiling is set at $64.25 million. That’s actually below last season’s $64.3 million ceiling.

This leaves the Bruins in a rough spot. They have about $5.7 million in cap space, including the room generated by placing Marc Savard on long-term injured reserve. They still need to sign restricted free agents Matt Bartkowski, Torey Krug and Reilly Smith, add at least one more bottom-six forward, and are still hoping to find a way to keep unrestricted free agent Jarome Iginla.

Even by just signing Bartkowski, Krug and Smith to their qualifying offers — Krug and Smith are in line for much more than those amounts — the Bruins would have roughly $3.25 million in cap space.

Chiarelli said earlier this week he would not use buyouts. The buyout window closes Monday. If Chiarelli changes his mind, Gregory Campbell and/or Daniel Paille could be candidates. Campbell carries a $1.6 million cap hit and Paille $1.1 million.

Campbell's agent, Patrick Morris, said in an email that the Bruins would not be buying out his client.